NYS ban on Native American mascots, team names: 4 LI districts are pushing forward with legal fight

For Wantagh resident Matt Susco, "Warriors" isn’t just the name of his hometown’s high school sports team.

"It’s always been a lifelong sense of pride for us residents, students, since we were children," said Susco, 46, who is president of the Wantagh Preservation Society.

So he and many other residents were dismayed when the New York State Board of Regents mandated that public schools remove Native American imagery, including mascots and team names like "Warriors."

Thirteen districts on the Island were affected by the ban, which was imposed under a state statute that seeks to ensure a "safe and supportive environment" for students. Districts that do not comply by June 30 could face a loss of state aid or the removal of school officers, such as elected board members.

Nine districts have either announced new names and mascots or said they will do so by the deadline. But four others — Wantagh, Wyandanch, Connetquot and Massapequa — have pushed back, filing suit for the right to keep their decades-old names or arguing that the ban violates their constitutional rights. 

Residents who oppose the change said the mascots instill a sense of community pride and tradition, and contend that they actually honor the Native Americans who once occupied much of Long Island.

Native Americans had lived on the Island for thousands of years before many were displaced by European settlers in the 1600s. Today, there are two recognized tribes on the Island: the Shinnecock in Southampton and the Unkechaug in Mastic. The Montaukett Indian Nation lost its state recognition in 1910; last month, Gov. Kathy Hochul again vetoed legislation that would have reinstated it, Newsday reported. 

Local Native American leaders dispute assertions that the mascots are a form of tribute, saying the names and logos promote "a stereotypical image" of their community and damage Indigenous children's self-esteem.

"It speaks to an acceptance of a racist caricature of a people who are alive, well, living, breathing with a distinct culture," said Harry Wallace, chief of the Unkechaug Indian Nation.

'Community and camaraderie'

In 2023, the Wantagh school district surveyed community members about the mascot ban. About 54% of the 962 respondents said the district should keep its name and imagery, a profile of a Native American man with a feather, while another 33.9% said just the name "Warriors" should remain. In the same survey, 73.7% of the respondents said the district should file a lawsuit against the state to keep the name.

The district has agreed to get rid of its Native American mascot, but is fighting to retain its name.

"To remove these logos and names would be a travesty because you cannot forget history," said Susco, who has a tattoo of a Native American head in full headdress near his left bicep.

Cathy Powell, 58, of Wantagh, agreed. She said the "Warriors" name honors the former sachem, or chief, of the Montauk Indians that the area is named after. She added that she believes it unifies the community, while honoring the legacy of the Native Americans that once inhabited the space.

"When people call us 'Warriors,' there is a deep-seated pride in that," she said. "There is a deep-seated community and camaraderie, and you really focus on the task at hand, the fight at hand."

But former Wantagh resident Glenn Strachan, who runs a virtual memorial page remembering Wantagh residents who have died, said, "There needs to be sensitivity given to Native Americans that have asked that their images not be appropriated for other issues."

Strachan, 67, now lives in Annapolis, Maryland, but remains connected to the community. In addition to the memorial page, he also runs several Wantagh alumni Facebook pages. 

Referring to the mascot ban, he said, "In 10, 12 years from now, when everyone's worked their way through the school system … no one will care."

Wantagh Schools Superintendent John McNamara said in a statement that the district is awaiting the outcome of its lawsuit and "remains hopeful" that the Warriors name will be preserved. He noted that a district mascot committee met in 2023 and provided recommendations to the board of education.

"Regardless of the decision, the district is prepared to respond appropriately," he said.

'I’m a warrior'

Farther east in Wyandanch, some residents expressed a similar connection to the Warriors’ name.

The hamlet is named after a Native American chief named Wyandanch, who is believed to have been born around 1615 in Montauk, according to the Town of Babylon website. 

Longtime Wyandanch resident Robert Johnson, 55, said the community has seen much change lately, between new developments, construction of charter schools and the influx of new residents. Now more than ever, he said, the nickname resonates with him.

"We’ve been through so much … that sense of saying 'I’m a warrior' and having the actual picture means a lot," he said.

The Wyandanch schools' logo had been a Native American in a headdress, but they have since switched to the letter W. The district is suing to keep the "Warriors" name.

Johnson, who has a daughter in high school, is active in the community and is planning a future run for a seat on the school board.

He said he agrees with the district's officials fighting to keep the "Warriors" name, but he acknowledged that a loss of state aid could force their hand.

"It would hurt us," he said. "I think if we got to that, my community might fold, but we tried to fight and that shows that we’re warriors."

Gerren Nixon, 47, said the "Warriors" name is "like a battle cry" for the community, but he noted that he has mixed feelings on the issue.

"Being an alumni, it’s disappointing," he said of the potential change. "That name has been a tradition in the community for decades."

But the class of 1994 graduate said he understood why the imagery and name could cause distress to some Native Americans.

"We understand the climate of the situation," he said. "We’re trying to plead with them to keep it."

Nixon said he hopes the district can find a "compromise" to keep the name.

Interim superintendent of schools Laurence Aronstein in a statement said, "Wyandanch is awaiting the court’s decision. Based on that decision, we will explore our future options."

Fight to keep mascot

The Connetquot and Massapequa districts have taken a different stance in their suit, seeking to invalidate the statewide ban as a whole.

Massapequa goes by the name Chiefs and its mascot is also a Native American man in a headdress. Connetquot is known as the Thunderbirds, or T-Birds. Its logo is a red, black and white bird. 

School officials in both districts declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

After a recent junior varsity basketball game at Connetquot High School in Bohemia, Luciano Calvosa said he didn't think the change made sense.

"When you’re in Connetquot, the main thing you’re remembered for is being a T-Bird and if you change the mascot, there’s not going to be a lot of legacy behind it anymore," said Calvosa, 20, of Bohemia.

The name "Thunderbirds" was first chosen by students in the 1960s and eventually morphed into the "T-Birds," Newsday previously reported. The district, in its suit, argued that mythical birds like the Thunderbird and other creatures are not unique to Native American culture.

The word "Connetquot" is an Algonquian Indian word meaning "at the long river," according to a local records database. Similarly, Massapequa comes from the Native American "Marspeag" or "Mashpeag," which means great waterland.

In Massapequa, Native American imagery is not only ingrained on sports jerseys but also in a mural next to a local bagel shop and even in the local chamber of commerce logo.

"It’s a long-standing tradition that represents the history and spirit of Massapequa," said Robin Hepworth, president of the Massapequa Chamber of Commerce. "I don’t feel that it disrespects the Native American culture. I feel 'Chiefs' symbolizes strength, leadership, honor."

Hepworth said she believes decisions about the district's name and mascot should be determined by the community and not by the state.

"It should involve input from community members, our businesses, our alumni and residents," she said.

A spokesman for the state Education Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Thomas Kelly, a comedian and longtime Massapequa resident, also believes the name and mascot should stay. "The Massapequa Chief is more than a symbol of the town’s 20th century heritage," he said. "It is a well-intended attempt at paying homage to those who occupied this land before us."

But Susan Ward, also of Massapequa, said, "I feel we took so much from them (Native Americans). If this is something they want and it makes them feel heard, I’m okay with that."

The original settlers of the area now known as Massapequa were believed to be members of the Lenape tribe, who spoke the Algonquin language, according to the website of the Massapequas municipalities. 

Cost of change

In October, the Amityville school district dropped a lawsuit that aimed to keep the Warriors nickname, as some board of education members cited "rising legal fees and the unlikelihood of success," Newsday previously reported.

Wantagh had spent $13,022 in lawyer fees as of September and more than $61,000 to replace the middle and high school gym floors with a new "W" logo. School officials have estimated that they would have to pay more than $650,000 to replace all references to the "Warriors" nickname, as well as the mascot imagery, according to a district plan on their website.

Massapequa had spent nearly $35,000 to fight the ban as of October, according to numbers provided to Newsday through a Freedom of Information Law request. Officials did not provide an estimate on the overall cost of a potential change.

Connetquot officials estimated that they would have to spend upwards of $323,000 to comply with the state ban. Wyandanch did not provide cost figures to Newsday.

But local Native American leaders argue that the changes are necessary.

Lance Gumbs, vice chairman of the Shinnecock Council of Trustees, said there has been a concerted effort to educate people on the harm that Native American mascot imagery has on young children.

"It's something that we feel strongly about," he said. "There's been a number of national studies showing the trauma and how it affects our native and Indigenous children around the nation, not just Long Island."

A 2020 study by researchers at the University of Michigan and University of California, Berkeley found that such mascots decrease self-esteem, feelings of community worth and achievement-related aspirations in the Native American population.

Gumbs noted that a "warrior" is a status that must be earned among some tribes in the Native American community.

"We applauded the state for making a decision to humanize the Indigenous people that are here, that these names directly affect," he said. "We will fight until the end to have those names changed."

As for arguments by some that the schools' names and imagery honor the Native American community and their roots, Wallace of the Unkechaug Indian Nation called them a "red herring." 

"If you were really truly honoring the people who lived there before, you would be protecting their burial sites, you would be protecting the culture of those people, you would be introducing the historical identity of those people who were there before, but you do none of that," he said.

With Virginia Huie